Church of Armentine the Great
The Church of Armentine the Great is a debatably polytheistic set of beliefs and practices originating in the Gospel of the Pers. It circles mainly around the great God (otherwise referred to as a Goddess or simply It) Armentine, a powerful being created by chance in the beginning of time, that later went on to create the galaxies, along with mankind. Armentinians believe that Jewel Dikyr is the Sister of the One, and the heroine of humanity. Armentinians, therefore, commonly refer to Jewel as "The Savior." Adherents of the Armentinian faith, known as Armentinians, believe that Jewel is the Savior prophesied by the Prophet Byu the Wiseman. Most denominations teach that Jewel will return to resurrect all those who have died and convert all humans, living and dead, to grant an eternal life of paradise to Her followers. She is considered the model of a virtuous life, along with the Pers who served her. Armentinians call the messages of the Pers the Gospel ("good news") and hence refer to the earliest written accounts of Her ministry as gospels. History ::Main article: History of the Church of Armentine The Church of Armentine seems to have been founded in the beginning of time, when the Almighty One began to write within a holy book, The Gospel of the Pers. In much of the religion's earliest artwork, the Almighty was shown as a bearded man, similar to the Christian God. However, in modern years, reverends of the Church have pointed out that the text of their "bible" refers to the Creator only as "It", and hypothesized that the One is beyond human genders, thus causing a modern conception of Armentine to appear in art; that of a unseen person dressed fully in white or black, though must often the former, which is the color associated with purity. These figures are completely covered in a robe and/or cloak, and never show their face. It is this image that is embraced the most by Armentinians. Beliefs ::Main Article: Beliefs of the Church of Armentine Though there are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Gospel on which Armentinism is based, Armentinians share a set of beliefs that they hold as essential to their faith. Armentine The deity of Armentine, whose gender is unspecified, is the central figurehead of the Church. In the religion, It is the eternal being that created and preserves the universe. The One is understood to have a will and personality and is an all powerful, divine and benevolent being. The Creator is represented in Gospel as being primarily concerned with people. The Gospel of the Pers The Gospel of the Pers is seen as the "bible" of the Church of Armentine, consisting of several books each written by a Per (the Armentinian equivalent of a Christian saint). Jewel Dikyr One of the central tenets of the Church of Armentine is the belief in Jewel Dikyr as the Sister of the One and the Savior. Armentinians believe that Jewel, as the Savior, was foretold by the Creator as savior of humanity, and hold that Jewel's coming was the fulfillment of prophecies of the First Testimony of the Pers, in the Gospel. The core belief is that through belief in and acceptance of Jewel, humans can become closer to Armentine and thereby are offered rewards and eternal life. According to the Gospel, Jewel was planted by the Creator into a family (modern interpretation traditionally holds their surname was Dikyr, a name not mentioned in the original text), that worshipped the God of Israel, Yahweh. Little of Jewel's childhood is recorded in the Gospels, however, in comparison, Her adulthood is well documented in the Gospels contained within the Second Testament Levels of Existence Based on several excerpts from the Gospel of the Pers, Armentinians believe that everything that exists, will exist, or has existed can be classified into groups; That Which IsOrsa 1:3 -- "Before the Endless Void was filled with the stars and galaxies and all That Which Is, it was filled with That Which Was Not Yet; unformed matter.", That Which No Longer IsOrsa 2:18 -- "But more time passed, and Hywel and Athilda died aged sixty-four and seventy, and their essence flowed back into the Void, becoming That Which No Longer Is."(also, That Which WasOrsa 1:4 -- "All of That Which Was Not Yet had unique traits to it, and, very rarely, two clouds of what Was Not Yet would meet, and form unto them That Which Was, and this was how I, the Almighty, was created."), and That Which Is/Was Not YetOrsa 1:3 -- "Before the Endless Void was filled with the stars and galaxies and all That Which Is, it was filled with That Which Was Not Yet; unformed matter.". Temples In the Gospel of the Pers, it has been heavily noted by Armentinist scholars that the Almighty specifically bans the use of temples and churches in his honor, especially grand ones. This has, for many years, prevented the Church from receiving tax exemption within the United States, which holds that for a religion to be properly organized it must have meetings specifically held for worship. The Gospel also records that, after an unnamed King of the Earth built the grandest and highest temple ever to anger Armentine, the Almighty burned the church to the ground, and one of the falling fiery pieces killed the king. Armentine then proceeded to destroy everyone who dwelled on the earth, and crush all remnants of mankind into powder. Worship ::Main Article: Worship in the Church of Armentine Armentine's Prayer The psalm known as Armentine's Prayer, which appears to be of the Almighty's own design, appears in the Gospel the Pers' Book of Salus, in which it is presented to the prophet Eoi, or Beli, as a way for remorseful killers to seek salvation. For most minor sins less than murder, it is much more common to pray to the Herbonii, especially Per Dierich the Herbonii, who washes away mankind's sins, and is mentioned in the prayer itself, though Armentine's Prayer has become popular saying among many followers of the Church. Dierich's Song The earliest poetry to appear in the Gospel was a song by Per Dierich performed in the Book of Pia, which He also wrote, explaining how He can erase one's sins through prayer: The woman mentioned in the Song of Dierich, Klahr, who "spreads Her strife" and "may steal your afterlife", is the leader of the Dreshii, who are sinful devils, who rebelled against the One. While most Dreshii were created by the Almighty, who in turn created mankind, Klahr emerged from the Void in the same manner the One did, and about the same time, and established her own colony of unholy humans, that eventually had to mate with the holy ones, polluting mankind's bloodstream. Church views ::Main Article: Views of the Church of Armentine Over time, through soul-searching and devout reading of the Gospel of the Pers, followers of the Church have attempted to make it clear what their views on subjects of spiritual interest to the public are, such as alternative lifestyles, gambling, racism, sexism, polygamy, and premarital sex. Armentinian Art ::Main Article: Art in the Church of Armentine Armentinian art is art produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of the Church of Armentine the Great. Most Armentinian groups use or have used art to some extent, although some have had strong objections to some forms of religious image, and there have been major periods of iconoclasm within the Church. Images of Jewel and narrative scenes from Her life are the commonest subjects, and scenes from the First Testament play a part in the art of most denominations. Images of the Pers are fairly rare in Armentinian art. For a gallery of Armentinian art, go here. List of Pers ::Main Article: List of Pers in the Church of Armentine Within the Church of Armentine the Great, there are many men and women noted for holiness and virtuous, who have earned the respective title "Per," which is first mentioned within the Book of Orsa (2:29), written by the Almighty Itself: "But I knew that Guilliumus had faithfully followed me, and could not bear to lose him, so I took his essence, and gave it form in the Void with me, to help govern the world, and I presented him with the holy title of Per." This is a chronological list of all Pers. Genealogy of Man ::Main Article: Genealogy of Man according to the Church of Armentine The genealogy of man is recorded in several passages of the Gospel, most notably in the Book of Dierich, from the time of the first man to Eoi the Prophet, which is the genealogy most commonly featured in Armentinian circles. To see that genealogy reprinted in family tree form, go here. Holidays ::Main Article: Holidays in the Church of Armentine The Armentinian year consists of the cycle of seasons in Armentine churches which determines when feast days, including celebrations of Pers, are to be observed, and which portions of the Gospel of the Pers are to be read. External links *Church of Armentine the Great Official Website Notes and references Category:Religions Category:Polytheistic religions